Kelly Keeps It Groovy With Tie Dyes

Tie dying clothes has probably been around as long as we've been wearing clothes.  But, the hay-day of tie dying was the late 1960's through the 1970's.  The News On 6's Rick Wells reports the tie dye hay-day has never gone away for one Tulsa woman.

It's a little like walking through a time warp.  For Kelly Killion tie dying has never gone away.  It is all she's ever done.  She says everyone who comes into her shop has a tie dye memory of some kind.

"It's totally like playing.  I can't believe I have this as a job," said Kelly Killion.

She was going to school at OSU, working at Hideaway Pizza and they lost their Tie Dye guy.  She says that's when she took over. 

She says most people don't tie T-shirts up in a rubber band and dye them in a bucket any more.  She soaks the shirt in a special bath and then just winds it up.

"This is called proceon.  This is what all the tie dyers use," said Kelly Killion.

Out in front of her business sits her rolling billboard.  She calls it, Harvey the Hippy Bus.  It's her second painted up VW van.

"It's really hard for me to get a couple of blocks from my house without getting my first peace sign of the day.  It's awesome," said Kelly Killion.

She says her most unusual tie dye involved dying 144 pairs of men's briefs and then, with scissors, turning them into women's halter tops for a biker rally in Florida.

Tie Dyes of Tulsa is open from 11-ish to 5-ish, Tuesday through Saturday.